Muhibah_SepOct2013_090913 - Royal Brunei Airlines

A look inside the BoeingDreamliner Factory for RoyalBrunei Airlines’ first Dreamliner.Words Azhani DanielIt was the silence as much as the scale that caused us to pauseupon stepping onto the factory floor where Royal Brunei’s twonew Dreamliners await final assembly. Approaching the 787factory in Everett, Washington, we all struggled to make sense ofa building that covers almost a hundred acres and is, by volume,the largest building ever constructed. Once inside, a sense ofcalm pervaded, with none of the anticipated rattle of rivet gunsor clamour of a typical workshop.The 787 Dreamliner is a new breed of plane, designed andbuilt for super-efficiency and unparalleled passenger comfort.Composed of a single piece of composite, rather than the1,500 sheets of aluminium that go into a standard airliner,the Dreamliner has 80 percent reduction in fasteners allowingconstruction to proceed smoothly and silently.On this day, we finally laid eyes on the first two of an eventualfive Dreamliners that will make up Royal Brunei’s new fleet.For us at Royal Brunei Airlines, we had long dreamt of this day.As the first Southeast Asian airline to receive a delivery, and thefirst to publically commit to a 100 percent Dreamliner fleet for alllong haul travel, the new planes are a matter of national pride fora country with a population of just 400,000 that could easily fitwithin the confines of Boeing’s giant factory.The Dreamliner is nothing short of beautiful. Procuring such aniconic aircraft is a major achievement for Brunei Darussalam aswell as for the airline, with its 37 years of commitment to awardwinning service. This was a natural fit – an aircraft designed withpassenger comfort at its heart. And, many of these features wereevident in the two sleek white fuselages taking centre stage atthe assembly line.Entering the cabin, where Royal Brunei’s calming batiquedesign was already fitted, the light streamed through windowsthat are 30 percent larger than standard aircraft. The touchsensitive technology, once fully operational, will allowpassengers to choose from five different window tints –from clear to 99 percent opaque.Elsewhere, the cabin interior remains lacking a ceiling, displayingthe ducting that will supply cleaner, healthier air at a lower cabinaltitude for passengers. This, alongside a larger, more spaciouscabin, is intended to reduce the effects of jet lag.September | October 201347